We’ve narrowed it down to 11

The inside buzz on who will be the city’s next president of the Board of Supervisors seems to change by the day. The latest scenario has Supervisor Chris Daly and the four newcomers voting for David Chiu, and the more moderate faction backing Supervisor Sophie Maxwell.

The Chronicle

Ross Mirkarimi holds the cards

That leaves Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi as the swing vote in what he calls “part beauty pageant and part power struggle.” But it also means he could convince one side or the other to vote for him, and he’s been meeting privately with lots of supervisors. We spotted him and Supervisor Sean Elsbernd in deep discussion over burgers at Flipper’s the other day.

“I don’t think anybody really knows what the true calculus is at this stage — there’s a lot of speculation,” he said. “I wouldn’t put any bets down in Las Vegas.”

He said he doesn’t think anything will be certain until the actual vote Thursday. That night, folks are gathering at South of Market’s Temple Bar for a roast of the four newbies. We’ve got to give organizers props for a great event name: “Roasted Supe.”

UPDATE: Supervisor Chris Daly dropped by to say his group will nominate Supervisor-elect John Avalos, but David Chiu or David Campos may be back-ups if Avalos can’t get enough votes. He called the presidency “a horse race” but noted, “I’ve never lost a leadership fight.”